Led · Equity · Jun 2024

Kaluza provides a platform for managing energy customer and agent experiences and to host consumer electricity and gas customer services. AGL Energy is investing in Kaluza to fund the company’s growth and international expansion. As part of the agreement AGL will deploy Kaluza across its retail customer base over the next three years, transferring four million consumer electricity and gas customer services onto the platform. The transaction is structured as A$150m in preference shares that will give AGL a 20% direct interest and board representation. The companies expect the work under AGL’s Retail Transformation Program to reduce operating costs and capital expenditure, with net benefits beginning in fiscal 2028 and pre-tax cash savings of roughly $70m–$90m annually from fiscal 2029. Estimated implementation costs for the residential and small-business customer solution are about $300m over four financial years beginning in 2024.

Led · Series C · May 2018

ecobee introduced the world’s first smart thermostat and builds smart‑home devices and integrations (notably the ecobee4 thermostat and the Alexa‑enabled ecobee Switch+). The company says it has captured more than a third of the smart‑thermostat market and has experienced over 100% year‑over‑year growth. ecobee is pursuing a broader home operating system that leverages voice, advanced sensor technology and AI to transform how consumers interact with their homes. The company reports sustained profitable growth and is expanding its product suite and go‑to‑market capabilities while scaling operations. Recent leadership hires (CMRO Jackie Poriadjian‑Asch, COO Scott Cleaver and CFO David Brennan) are intended to support that expansion. Headquarters are in Toronto and the company was founded in 2007. Ecobee designs smart thermostats and other connected-home products, including a thermostat with far-field technology that can function like an Echo and a smart light switch. The company has embraced Amazon Alexa integration, building Alexa functionality directly into its devices. Ecobee says it has captured around a third of the smart thermostat market and has seen strong growth in recent years. The company is focused on installing devices throughout the home and aligning with Amazon’s third-party Alexa strategy. Ecobee is an 11-year-old, Toronto-based company. Its recent fundraising activity and Amazon partnership have drawn attention to potential strategic outcomes for the business. ecobee develops Wi‑Fi thermostats with room sensors and other connected-home technologies. Its thermostat is compatible with Amazon Echo through the Alexa Smart Home Skill API, enabling homeowners to control room temperature by voice. The product is positioned to deliver savings on heating and cooling bills. ecobee was founded in 2007 and is led by President and CEO Stuart Lombard. The company is based in Toronto, Canada. It closed a $35m funding round to continue developing connected home technologies. ecobee develops intelligent energy conservation and green-technology solutions for single-family homes, multi-family dwellings and commercial properties. The company is based in Toronto and operates a US office in Northboro, MA. ecobee commercializes its products through leading distributors and contractors. The business focuses on products that drive energy savings and efficiency for residential and commercial customers. In January 2010 ecobee secured external capital to support its growth plans. The new funding is earmarked to accelerate sales, marketing and product efforts.

Participated · Series B · Jul 2017

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) builds the Armada platform, which uses cloud-based analytics and advanced energy storage to continuously optimize the financial performance of customer-sited energy resources and aggregate them into dispatchable portfolios for utilities. The company offers services to end-use customers and utilities, enabling optimized dispatch and participation in utility markets. AMS plans to use new funding to scale deployments and expand its platform services into new markets. The round increases the company’s total funding to $52M, reflecting ongoing investment in its commercial growth. AMS is led by CEO Susan Kennedy and maintains offices in San Francisco, New York, Austin, and Boston. The article does not disclose operating metrics such as revenue or user counts.

Led · Series C · Feb 2016

Sunverge offers a grid-aware Distributed Energy Resource (DER) control and aggregation platform, including its Sunverge Infinity edge controller and a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) orchestration layer. The platform delivers real-time grid-edge visibility and dynamic co-optimization of services on both sides of the meter for solar, energy storage, EVs/chargers and other smart devices. Sunverge targets utilities, aiming to help them operationalize and integrate DERs into core utility planning and operations. The company plans to expand and evolve its platform and deepen partnerships with utilities to support grid modernization and decarbonization goals. Financially, Sunverge announced an $11 million capital raise to fund ongoing innovation and platform expansion. The company is based in San Francisco. Sunverge Energy, founded in 2009 and based in San Francisco, designs and manufactures cloud-based intelligent energy storage systems and a distributed energy resource management platform. Its systems enable utilities to execute demand-response programs at the individual-customer level or aggregate assets into “Virtual Power Plants” to meet peak demand across communities or service areas. The company is advancing the Sunverge Solar Integration System (SIS), a distributed energy storage and management appliance composed of storage batteries, power electronics, and cloud-based system-management software, which will be available this summer. Sunverge raised $36.5M in a Series C financing and will use the funds to expand into new geographies. Investors in the round include AGL Energy, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), SBCVC, Siemens Venture Capital and Total Energy Ventures International. Ken Munson is the company's founder and CEO. Sunverge Energy develops the Sunverge Solar Integration System (SIS), a distributed energy storage solution that integrates batteries, power electronics and multiple energy inputs with software running locally and in the cloud. The company was founded in 2009 and is led by President and CEO Kenneth Munson from Stockton, CA. Sunverge has deployed nearly 300 SIS units at customer sites across the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and South Korea. The company closed a $15M Series B and intends to use the proceeds to exploit growth opportunities in key markets worldwide. Its product combines hardware and software to manage distributed energy resources for customers and utilities. The business appears focused on scaling deployments internationally using the new capital.